Page 23 of Bright Dark Curses

Bagley snorted. “You’re willing to ask questions now?”

I was, yes. Until five days ago, Bagley had had most of the power in our dynamic. I’d had no control over which item she haunted in the shop and who she could talk to. Getting any help out of her would’ve meant agreeing to very unfavorable deals, including her obsession with gaining a new body.

Now that I had full control of where she was and who she could talk to, though, I felt a lot more comfortable asking her about magic-related things. Which was somewhat messed up in retrospect, but, as Grandma used to say, use all tools at your disposal, even if you have to wash them later.

She might’ve been talking about dinner.

“Out with it, Bagley. What do you know about evil paranormals working in the film industry?”

“Oh, that’s going to cost you a—hey!”

A small ink-black tentacle had slid out of the faucet and was poking at the locket, forcing it to swing back and forth.

“No!” Bagley exclaimed in outrage as the tentacle poked harder. “Bad squid! Stop that right now!”

I patted the wall. “Good kraken.”

Fluffy jumped and let out a bark of curiosity.

“It’s a squid,” Bagley grumbled, apparently resigned to her fate as a temporary toy.

I pointed at her with the pestle. “Be nice to Tiny Kraken or you’re going back to the tool shed right away.”

“‘Tool shed.’ More like a rust bucket.”

“Would you rather I bury you in the backyard?”

“With those beasts fertilizing my garden? No, thank you.”

I frowned. “Hey, I clean after them.”

“Why not look after my garden while you’re at it?”

“I pulled a lot of the weeds.” I had meant to consult a gardening expert witch as to what would be the best herbs to grow, but it kept slipping my mind.

“My garden needs more than that. It needs magic and care.”

My hands froze in the process of spooning up some of the powdered herbs. “Magic?”

“Well, of course, child. How do you think that ivy stays so healthy and dense all year long?”

I closed my eyes and groaned. “You used dark magic, didn’t you?”

She chuckled.

Great. I lived in a murder house with vampire plants. “Fluffy, don’t eat the ivy.” I warned sternly.

Fluffy yipped and pawed at my leg.

“Yes, yes, cuddles soon.”

“Focus on your potion,” Bagley chided. “You’re using too much clove.”

Perhaps it had been a mistake to prepare this in front of her. “Tell me about evil paranormals and the curse on Olmeda, and I’ll play a chapter for you during breakfast.”

“Which book?” she asked sharply.

“A paranormal mystery one.” With a special branch of the government that hunted down evil witches, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. It’d be a delicious surprise.

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